Predator

Hey Fellas, hoping you can help me out. I have a stock Monsoon system except for an Alpine CDA-D855 head unit. The problem I have is no sound from the speakers, but the head unit turns on and seems to be fine. I'm thinking I have a grounding problem. Here's my theory, the problem started after I installed new cylinder heads, so I was wondering if the head unit is grounded to the back of the cyclinder heads? I remember having had to reattach a bunch of ground wires to the heads and I'm wondering if one of the wires was from the head unit and I didn't get a solid ground reinstalling the ground wire?

If not, where on the car is the black ground wire installed/ connected from the factory head unit wiring harness?

If you have any other ideas on what the problem of no sound from the speakers might be please fill me in, but the main thing I'm trying to find out is where on the car is the ground wire from the head unit attached on the car, behind the cylinder head or somewhere else? Thanks.

Predator

I had a thought. Could I just cut the black ground wire, in the factory harness, and attach it on some nearby screw? My Alpine HU is hooked up with an adapter into the factory wiring harness. Thanks.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Have you checked the fuses? The RADIO ACCY fuse protects the Monsoon amp circuit and is completely separate from the fuses protecting the head unit circuits.

The problem is certainly not related to any head unit ground issue. The head unit is working fine so its ground is fine. Like most of the dash electronics, the head unit grounds to a bolt on the left side kick panel under the dash.

Predator

Ok, that's helpful, so I take it that if the HU turns on (even though there's no sound from the speakers) it can't be a ground problem because the HU wouldn't turn on at all if it wasn't properly grounded? I remember checking the fuses in the past and they looked visually okay, but I never investigated further. I'll check the RADIO ACCY fuse. Is that located in the car or under the hood? And if the fuse looks good visually but is actually faulty how do I test the fuse?

Also, as I think about it, since you said that the HU grounds to the left side kick panel I can stop wondering if I screwed up reinstalling the ground wires to the heads. Huge help!

I'll be taking off the door panels, to do the cracked door panel fix, so I can check those speakers next if the fuse turns out to be okay.

Thanks so much for the help!

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Yes, if the HU powers up it must be getting both power and ground. The RADIO ACCY fuse is in the dash fuse panel - #4 in the top right corner.

There are a couple of ways to test a fuse. Never rely on a visual inspection - especially in an older car - because the fuse may look fine but still not work. If you have a multimeter or test light you can check for power on both sides of the fuse - if you get power on one side but not the other then the fuse is blown (there are openings in the top of the fuse where you can insert the test probe while the fuse is still plugged in). Fuse testers are available at auto parts stores and WalMart and are so inexpensive that they even include them free with packages of fuses. The fuse tester has two pins that insert into the holes on the top of the fuse and a small light tells you whether the fuse is good or not.

Finally, you can just replace the fuse with a known good fuse of the same amperage. In this case, the WIPER/WASH fuse is the same amperage so you could swap it (assuming your wipers are working). If it works you've found the problem. If it doesn't work, be sure to put the fuse back in the WIPER slot and test your wipers - it's possible that you have a short that causes the fuse to blow immediately.

Predator

Another thought, my power antenna works fine. Isn't the RADIO ACCY fuse on that circuit? Also, I have no sound whatsoever meaning no sound from the door speakers as well (obviously). I thought that the door speakers were powered by the amp in the Alpine HU? Not sure, just asking. Does this added info eliminate the RADIO ACCY fuse as a possibility?

Thanks for all the tips on checking fuses, and especially the tip about switching the WIPER/ WASH fuse. Thanks!

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Camaro Monsoon systems have ALL speakers powered by the amp, Firebird systems have the tweeters (front and rear) powered by the HU with all other speakers powered by the amp.

You're right - the power antenna is on the same fuse as the amp so if it's working you can be sure the fuse is OK.

At this point you should be checking the head unit. First check the "oh oh that was dumb" things like maybe you accidentally pushed the mute button. Include some less obvious things like checking if you accidentally set the output to the RCA jacks instead of the speaker connections. If everything there checks out then pull the unit and make sure the connections are all tight. Did you use crimp connectors? If so, give each wire a little tug to make sure they haven't come lose from the connectors.

Predator

Thanks WhiteBird00, it sounds like my HU is broken. I already played around with the mute button, and I had the radio out of the dash and disconnected the adapter plug and reconnected it (from behind the Alpine HU). There's a bunch of wires in the aftermarket adapter that are held together with wire nuts and they seem to be fine. There's also a fuse in the adapter harness that looks fine. The HU was installed at a car stereo dealership. One thing I noticed is that there's an orange wire with a white stripe that's just clipped off not attached to anything, but I can't find any information about that wire (Orange/White Stripe).

One thing you said caught my attention: "things like checking if you accidentally set the output to the RCA jacks instead of the speaker connections." I've been all through the Alpine manual and can't find anything about being able to set the output. I don't have a clue about how to do that.

I'm thinking about just buying a new HU and hoping that will solve the problem. I want Sirius XM and maybe to be able to hook up my IPod. I still have my stock Monsoon HU and planned on seeing if the speakers would work with that, but I had trouble removing the adapter plugged into the stock wiring harness so I just said screw it. I could try again if that would definitely answer whether my Alpine HU is broken. Should I perservere and reinstall the Monsoon HU to see what happens?

I greatly appreciate all your help and patience. Thanks a ton!

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

The orange/white wire is for the display light dimming. It is one of two options for the display illumination. The solid orange wire gets a simple on/off (power/no power) signal from the lights and then the head unit takes care of the dimming. The orange/white wire gets the variable voltage from the factory dash light dimmer and adjusts the HU display accordingly. Most aftermarket HUs use the first method so you can ignore the orange/white wire.

Many aftermarket head units have both speaker output and pre-amp RCA output in case you want to connect to your own amp. Most have a switch or some kind of menu option that let you choose which output you want to use. I'm not familiar with your HU so I couldn't tell you where that option is or even if your particular model has such an option. I just threw it out there as a possibility to check.

If you have the original HU available, I would give it a try. That would let you know for certain whether the aftermarket HU has gone bad. If it was installed with a proper harness adapter, it should be a simple case of unplug and swap to try the original HU.

Predator

Awesome info. You're a whiz kid at this stuff. Awesome!

I'm gonna try to hook up the Monsoon HU tomorrow. If it turns out that my Alpine HU is broken is it possible you could recommend a good HU with AM/FM/CD and Sirius XM ready? The IPod ability isn't essential to me. I don't care, Alpine or any other brand. I guess I'd have to go 1 DIN. Can Kee Audio hook me up with a good HU, or Crutchfield instead?

Lastly, I have an adapter hooked up to use my steering wheel buttons (it works BTW even though the speakers are out). When I get my new HU can I just leave that SWC adapter as is when I install a new HU? I didn't look at it closely but it looks like it's spliced into the original harness. Thanks again, much appreciated! You rock!

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Assuming you have the wired steering wheel adapter SWI-JACK and not the wireless SWI-X, you'll want to find a JVC, Alpine, Clarion or Kenwood (JACK) head unit so that you can reuse the adapter. Pioneer and Sony have a different adapter called the SWI-PS.

It's hard to make specific recommendations because there are so many options available. Look for the features you want (don't forget variable illumination so you can have red lighting to match the dash) and then pick one that suits your needs. Personally, I'm partial to Kenwood and Pioneer (especially Pioneer if FM reception is important to you) but Alpine and JVC have some decent units as well.

I would definitely recommend either of our sponsors Kee Audio or Double D Mods. Crutchfield is a company that gives very good customer service but our sponsors have built reputations for even better service and they know the f-body market much better not to mention that they usually have better pricing as well.

Predator

I'm not sure if my adapter is wired or not. There's a wire mounted behind the trim "panel" in the groove between the HU and the heating controls. I think it sends an infrared signal to the steering wheel controls. Okay, just researched this and it looks like I have the SWI-X. It seems you need a HU with a remote control to utilize this adapter.

When I'm ready I'll give Kee a ring. I've always had great luck with LS1Tech sponsors in the past, and knowing the f-body market (as you said) is not something to take lightly. It makes ordering what you need a heck of a lot easier, installation too.

But before I order anything I'm gonna try to plug in stock Monsoon HU and see what happens. If the speakers still don't work it will send me back to the drawing board .

Anyway, I'm really awed and grateful/ appreciative for all your help. You and LS1Tech rock! Thankyou so much!

Predator

Just an update. You nailed the troubleshooting dude! It was the Alpine HU that was malfunctioning. I have the stock Pontiac Monsoon HU re-installed and everything is working perfectly. In fact, since I haven't had tunes for so long I'm actually diggin' the Monsoon, plus it looks pretty good in the dash :-).

The mental block I couldn't overcome was thinking that the problem had to be one of the GM parts haha. I couldn't imagine that my Alpine HU would have crapped out on me. I don't think I would have ever figured this out without your help. I'm pretty good with mechanical stuff, but electronics baffle me.

Since I have some tunes now I can take my time researching what my next move is. I definitely want satellite radio.

Anyway, another THANKYOU for your expert help! I'm very grateful. Later. Thankyou!

Predator

Another update, I ordered a PIE GM9-AUX adapter and a male 2-to-1 RCA cable from Amazon, $57.93 for both.

I'm looking for a satellite radio now. If anyone can recommend a good one to get please let me know. This will be hooked up to my Monsoon with the PIE adapter. Thanks.

Predator

Think I'm gonna get this radio. I like that I can select red lighting, plus many different options for mounting it:

http://shop.siriusxm.com/xm/ctl10600...th_vehicle_kit

Predator

Just a heads up: Sirius is giving me the radio for free, just $7.96 for shipping. On the website it says $49.99, and that's what you'd pay if you ordered through the site, but I decided to call in my order and they gave me the radio for free. So if anyone wants this radio, it's worth your while to call in the order.